Photo Credits: Tuem ESDM park: A long and winding road ahead
In a bid to boost industrial development in Goa, the State government had last year unveiled plans for an ESDM park at Virnoda in Tuem. 7 months after the cornerstone was laid for laying approach roads to the park, work is still dragging on at a snail's pace. KARAN SEHGAL travelled to this remote part of Pernem, only to find that the government is far from convincing investors if vital aspects viz connectivity and education remain on the back-burner
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Twenty kilometres from Mapusa, in the economically backward taluka of Pernem, the State government had last year announced the setting up of an electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park. On June 11, 2015, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar laid the foundation stone for construction of the approach road to the site of the proposed ESDM park at Tuem. However, 7 months down the line, work on approach road is still on.
The public works department (PWD) has flattened the rocky surface, with a clear path now available for trucks and cars to proceed further. But, when travelling further ahead, there’s nothing but a barren plateau with some wild plants. This is the ground reality of the proposed ESDM park which is supposedly aimed at attracting companies in designing, testing and manufacturing of electronic components.
There are no signages indicating directions to the site of the proposed park. It was actually difficult for this reporter and lensman finding this place. The site for the park is located around five kilometres after making a left turn along the Goa-Mumbai highway at Dhargal. Frustrated after a futile search, The Goan Team headed to the office of Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) at Tuem Industrial Estate. And by sheer luck, the team happened to meet a GIDC staffer who hails from Virnoda, the actual site of the park.
After getting directions from the GIDC staffer, the team drove for another 5 kms to the site where the CM had laid the foundation stone for approach road for the park. But astonishingly, there was no frenzied activity, apart from the flattened but untarred approach road and the empty site of the barren plateau staring back at them.
It must be appreciated that the State government has chosen this site for the park because Pernem lags far behind in terms of economic development when compared to the talukas of Bardez, Tiswadi and Salcete. But, from the looks of it, the fruits of development may take much longer to trickle down to people of Goa, and more specific to the locals of Virnoda, Tuem and Pernem.
Nilesh Phaldesai, managing director, Info Tech Corporation, said, “The approach road is almost ready, with only the tarring work to be completed. There are plans to set up a power sub-station for the park. PWD is also working on constructing a water facility; and we also have to provide internet bandwidth to companies.”
The Central government has formulated a scheme to support ESDM parks in various states, he informed. “We have selected a consultant, and are in the process of preparing a detailed project report (DPR), which will be presented to the Central government. Actually, the Centre has accorded its in-principle approval to us for funding the infrastructural work inside the ESDM park,” Phaldesai added.
The State government should be commended for setting the wheels in motion, but based on Phaldesai’s comments, it is clear that most of the actual work is yet to commence at the site. Given that the State government always finds it tough in meeting its own deadlines, the challenge here is immense. Not to forget, the park isn’t going to be just another industrial estate, where the government’s job will be restricted to only building roads and providing power and water infrastructure. From the very term ‘ESDM park’, it should be evident that the park is going to be a huge campus that will house several companies.
Will the campus be set up on the lines of a 'plug-and-play' model, like a huge building complex with office space adequately provided for internet, water and power wherein companies can just come, plug in their computers and work? Will the park be divided into plots and handed over to companies to build their own facilities? Or will it be a mix of both of these aspects? The State government will have to decide on all these points before inviting companies.
Back at Virnoda, people here aren’t really expecting their fortunes to change significantly better with the setting up the park. “The engineers of this village travel to Mapusa for work. Some of them even go to Tuem Industrial Estate. Most of them work on daily wages,” informed a villager.
Clearly, there isn’t sufficient manpower either in the tiny village of Virnoda, nor in Tuem or in entire Pernem taluka for a project of this magnitude. Thus, investors will have to factor in the need of attracting talent outside of Pernem, and in many cases, even outside of the State.
There is a bus service to Virnoda, but the last bus that leaves from Virnoda to Mapusa is at 4:30 p.m. Clearly, public transport will require a monumental improvement. Work on the approach road is underway, but what is also required is also widening of all roads leading to this approach road which needs to be taken up on a war-footing.
The state government must realise that having an industrial estate in Tuem will not necessarily change the fortunes of people living in the area. For this to happen, a cohesive approach is necessary. 37 years after Tuem Industrial Estate came into existence, Tuem still continues to be a backward part of the State. “Most people in Tuem barely finish their school education. They are mostly unskilled workers. There is Don Bosco's school in Tuem, but apart from that, kids also study at a government school,” spoke an industrialist from Tuem Industrial Estate, on the condition of anonymity.
“There is an ITI located in Tuem, but it is struggling to fill its seats. As a result, we also find it tough to get workforce from there. Besides, the roads are so narrow that it is very difficult to get trailers here,” he continued. This is when roads around Tuem Industrial Estate are in a better condition when compared to the site at the proposed ESDM park.
The task of creating an ESDM park at Tuem and ensuring its success is indeed going to be a herculean task for the State government. But, if the government manages to do so, it will be a chapter worth writing in golden letters in the annals of Goan history.
